TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Appointing a number of ministers of the Working Cabinet as the mediators to deal with matters related to foreign investment is not a necessary move as it is likely to create overlap of functions among ministries and institutions.
So far, the task to conduct economic diplomacy has been carried out by Minister of Foreign Affairs and his/her staff, including Indonesian embassies a in friendly countries.
However, President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has now mandated ten ministers and two heads of institutions to become mediators for foreign countries who want to invest in Indonesia.
It is those high-ranked officials that will bridge foreign investors with local companies in an effort to replace middlemen.
Actually, Article 28 paragraph 1 of Law Number 25 of 2007 on Capital Market stipulates the tasks and function of the Investment Coordinating (BKPM) and one of the tasks of the institution is to promote investment.
Now, promoting Indonesia among investors will become the responsibility of those ministers. The reason behind the appointment of those ten ministers, Head of BKPM, and Head of the Creative Economy Agency is not transparent either.
According to Cabinet Secretary, there is several consideration of personal closeness when the President appointed those 12 officials. It is expected that the closeness of those ministers with certain countries will be able to remove barriers in attracting foreign investors.
In fact, as the government has already admitted, barriers faced by foreign investors to invest in Indonesia are about investment permits.
BKPM has already anticipated it by launching one-stop integrated service (PTSP) on 26 January 2015. Previously, many permits must be submitted to a number of ministries or institutions.
The success of Minister Sudirman Said in attracting investment from the Middle East as an inspiration is not the right reason.
Investment from a Saudi Arabian oil company is indeed a sector handled by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources. It would be extraordinary if the minister is not a minister handling a specific minister.
Besides, additional tasks will affect the performance of those ministers.
For the record, ministers with good working performance according to the public in one year of Joko Widodo – Jusuf Kalla administration is very few.
A survey conducted by Indo Barometer announced in early October last year is one of the evidence. Only Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti whose satisfaction percentage reaches 71.9 percent
While the Presidential Decree has not been issued, it would be better for the government to weigh the urgency to appoint those ministers.
Instead of lengthening the chain of bureaucracy, it would be better for the government to focus on pushing the existing ministries and institutions so that they carry out their functions well.
If the causes of those barriers have not been found out yet, the President can instruct his ministers to find out and should not give them additional burdens.
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